In the past, shingles, such as those typically installed upon the roof of a house, or other structure, have been applied using various techniques. For example, one technique of installing shingles involves gauging the position of each row of shingles by the top of the slots in the row of shingles below. However, this technique can be inaccurate if the slots maintained by any of the shingles are uneven. Furthermore, this process can be very inefficient and inaccurate, as each shingle is required to be positioned and lined-up with the slot by hand by visually estimating where the shingle should be placed. Another method of installing roof shingles involves using chalk lines that are struck or otherwise applied upon the roofing paper sub-surface so as to provide a reference or guide for the top edge of a newly-installed shingle so as to ensure it is installed with the correct spacing. While this method is preferred by many shingle installers, such method is subject to yielding inaccurate results, as the shingles themselves, due to manufacturing variation, can vary in width, thus resulting in shingles that are misaligned. This method can also be time consuming, as the position of each shingle is required to be adjusted by hand so that the shingle is aligned with the chalk line. Yet another method of installing shingles utilizes an alignment gauge that is provided on the underside of an air nail gun to aid in positioning the shingles at their appropriate location. This method can also yield misaligned shingles, as the other protrusions or dimensions of the nail gun can cause the shingles to get caught as the shingles are installed, causing the spacing between adjacent shingles to be thrown off. In addition, the installer must continuously check that the alignment gauge of the air gun remains in proper position to prevent the misalignment of shingles, which is tedious and time consuming.
Although various devices have been developed to overcome one or more of the aforementioned deficiencies associated with the accurate placement and installation of shingles, such devices tend to be difficult to use, and often create other obstacles that impede the user's ability to achieve the accurate and consistent alignment of shingles.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a shingle installation device that is user-friendly, and easy to use while yielding accurate, consistent, and efficient alignment of shingles. In addition, there is a need for a shingle installation device that provides a positioning stop and an alignment stop that are spaced by a predetermined distance, such that when the alignment stop is positioned against the bottom edge of an installed shingle, the positioning stop is oriented at a suitable position for the installation of a successive, or subsequent shingle. Furthermore, there is a need for a shingle installation device that maintains a retainer to hold the edge of a shingle to be installed in position before it is fastened to a surface. Still yet, there is a need for a shingle installation device that maintains a shield to protect an installer's hand from injury during shingle installation. In addition, there is a need for a handle that is substantially aligned with the length orientation of the shingle installation device to allow the installation device to be more efficiently moved from position to position.